Darkness Falls
by Lyssa117
Summary: Just because it hasn't been done before...This will be a "Hermentor!" Hermione and Dementor NOT a parody. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Rated T for now, may change later.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This story is going to be a little different, but I had the idea bouncing around in my head and wanted to get it out! :) Readers familiar with the Twilight series may notice a few similarities, but don't worry, Hermione is NO Bella! Lol **

**Enjoy! I don't own any characters or plots.**

Prologue

_The younger one glided silently beside his older companion and tried to mimic the hunting motions. He knew that he was not supposed to attempt communication while on the hunt, but he found that he couldn't contain his questions. _

_ "Why is it just the human we seek? Why is their soul our ultimate conquest? Does it hurt them?" The older one turned around slowly, his ragged cloak billowing in the slight breeze of the night._

_ "It isss not for you to quessstion. All you need to underssstand isss that they are our prey. That isss all. Nothing more, nothing lesss." His voice came out in a jagged hiss, as though he were unaccustomed to using it. "Now husssh. They are nearby." _

_ "How do you know that?" The younger one asked, ignoring the warning to keep quiet. The older one made a noise that was similar to an exasperated sigh._

_ "I can sssense their emotionsss. Their happinesss...their hope...it drawsss me to them. It isss that energy that we draw upon to sssurvive." They drew closer, and a few moments later their intended prey came into view. It was a man and a woman walking side by side, laughing softly together, oblivious to the rapidly darkening night around them. _

_ The younger one cocked his head as he surveyed the male and female before him. Their laughter was filling him with something, an urgent need that he couldn't explain or control. And yet, at the same time, he knew what would happen if he got any closer to them. Their happiness would quickly end, become nothing. And it would be inside of him. All of it. He watched the Older One descend slowly, scaly hands outstretched in anticipation. _

_ "Come!" He commanded the younger one, but did not turn away from his prey to make sure that his order was followed. At that moment, the woman wrapped her arms around herself and shivered._

_ "Pourquoi la nuit est-elle devenue si froide?" Even though she spoke an unfamiliar language, her meaning was clear. The younger one knew what she was saying, they all said the same thing. Whenever they approached, the first things the humans noticed was the abrupt change in temperature. The female was undoubtably asking her companion why the night had become so cold. The man shrugged, and answered her in a worried voice,_

_ "Je ne sais pas, mais je le sens aussi!" He put his arms around her, as if to shield her from an invisible enemy._

_ "Quelque chose est incorrecte!" The woman suddenly screamed, and the younger one knew that she sensed the presense of the older one, knew that her end was near. As if in answer, the older one clenched her face in his hands, stroked her jawline almost lovingly, and began to lower his head to hers. The man began screaming as well, and fell to the ground, clutching his head. _

_ The younger one knew what was expected of him, knew what every instinct was calling for him to do. He struggled for a moment, and then gave in to the consuming need and glided toward the victim on the ground. _


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione sighed and tucked a wayward piece of hair behind her ear. She moved her head from side to side to stretch out her neck, and then stood up and looked out the window. The enchanted view before her was of a bright, sunny day. Even though she knew it was an illusion created by Magical Maintenance, she felt an overwhelming desire to be finished with work for the day. She normally loved her job as a high ranking Auror, but not on days like this. She had been putting off the paperwork all week, and had had no choice today but to work on it. She smiled to herself when she thought about how Harry and Ron had teased her-"what happened to Little Miss Know-it-all who always had her work done on time?" She had retorted by telling them that _she_ had helped them with _their_ homework enough in school, they owed it to her to finish her paperwork. Harry had looked crest fallen at that statement, and most likely would have dutifully completed it for her if she had insisted. She had eventually shooed them out of her office, knowing that they wouldn't complete any of it to her specifications anyway.

Hermione sat back down at her desk and summoned a Butterbeer from down the hall. As she drank it and worked on the thankfully dwindling stack of papers, she was only dimly aware of Ron and Harry returning from a day out in the field, and then calling goodbye to her a couple of hours later. She briefly considered calling in a day and saving it for Monday, but she didn't want to go through the weekend with unfinished work in the back of her mind. Besides, it wasn't like she had anyone to go home to.

The sun was setting in the enchanted window behind her when she finally finished filling out the last form and sending it to her secretary's office for filing.

"Done." She said to herself, clapping her hands together in satisfaction. She stood up to leave her office, but turned back to put her quill in its proper place. "Enjoy the weekend!" She said to her empty office, and headed out the door.

The Ministry building was unusually quiet and slightly dark as she made her way toward the lift that would lead her to the Disapparation/Apparation point in the Atrium. Hermione shivered, not being able to throw off the "creepy" feeling she always got when she was in the large building alone. She knew that she wasn't technically alone, there had to be a security guard or two wandering around somewhere, as well as the Unmentionables who tended to work odd hours. She always attributed the strange feeling to memories of the horrible night in their fifth year when she, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and their other friends had infiltrated the Ministry after hours in an attempt to save Sirius Black. Of course, they had walked right into a clever trap set by Lord Voldemort, and the night had ended with she, Ron, and Ginny injured and Sirius dead in the Arch room.

Hermione knew that it was still hard for Harry to come here to work everyday in the place where his beloved godfather had died. She surmised that it was for this reason why Harry worked so hard when they were on field assignments as he relentlessly did his best to round up the last of Voldemort's followers.

She reached the lift, got in, and told the cool female voice to take her to the Atrium. With a rush, the lift moved sideways, and then up and down rapidly. It might have been leftover from her childhood, but Hermione had always loved the feeling of being on a roller coaster. She had been glad when the Ministry changed its policy to require all Apparations and Disapparations to take place within the Atrium—it gave her an excuse to ride the lift every day.

Hermione Disapparated out into the warm summer evening. She considered traveling home that way, but in the end decided to walk. After sitting at her desk for most of the day, the walk would do her good. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air, something that underground Ministry building could not quite replicate. With a spring in her step, Hermione smiled and headed for home.

OoooOOoo

_ The young Dementor sighed as he assessed his surroundings. Others, most of them older than he, floated around him nonchalantly as they all relaxed in their lair. He knew that he should feel content right now, full even, but there was still something not right. Something inside of him. Something that...almost...hurt? He started to ask one of the older ones, but then changed his mind. They were quickly becoming annoyed with his constant questions and information seeking. Dementors as a rule were basically solitary creatures, only teaming up when it was time to hunt or for other necessary activities such as breeding. Since the Dark side had lost the Great War, the remaining Dementors were forced to go into hiding, living together in small, cramped caves. Naturally, this caused tempers to flare easily and fights to break out occasionally. The young one spent most of his time trying to stay out of everyone's way and attempting to sort through the unanswered questions and thoughts that constantly plagued him lately. _

_ "Terr!" One of the older ones called to him. He drew himself up, not sure what he had done to suddenly deserve attention. He bowed his head slightly in deference to his elder and waited. "Lenduar tellsss that you were hesssitant on the hunt thisss night. You were asssking quessstionsss inssstead of focusssing on the prey." _

_ Terr lowered his head and spread his hands. "I did not mean to distract Lenduar from his sustenence." He wanted to explain that there were questions, feelings that he did not understand coursing through him, but knew that it was better to just admit to his wrong doing and leave it at that. The older one nodded in approval. _

_ "You are young, Terr. We sssometimesss forget that you need more nourissshment than do we. Go out on thisss night, alone, and practice your hunting. But keep to the Muggle world, you are not yet ready to face wizardsss and what they can do to usss." _

_ Terr nodded, and shivered slightly. He had heard stories, horrifying stories of the Wizard humans who had special powers. Powers that allowed them to hurt and kill Dementors. Powers that had driven them all into hiding. He had no desire to encounter Wizards, and knew that he would not be at all tempted to leave the Muggle world. He glided into the warm summer night, aware of the coldness that descended around him as he silently through the darkness. He knew that the older ones were growing tired of teaching him about hunting, having to listen to his questions. And the questions remained as he floated through the night. Was he supposed to attack the first human he came across? Was there a certain human who would "draw" him in? And most important and most shameful, did he have to end them? _


	3. Chapter 3

_ Terr glided noiselessly through the quiet Muggle village, searching for a victim. He was not so hungry that he was desperate, and decided to wait until he felt the "pull" and not just feast on the first human he came across. He was glad to be away from the others, he wanted to explore what would happen if he did not "end" the human. Lenduar always finished by destroying the human and leaving them empty, so Terr did not know if it was possible to just take what he needed and then leave. _

_ Terr was suddenly distracted by a shout, and the human's excitement and high emotions hit him like a tidal wave. He reeled around, and descended quickly toward the source. He found a group of human men in an alley, laughing as they approached another human. Terr noticed that it was a small female, and she was huddled against the back wall of the alleyway, eyes scanning desperately for a way out. She seemed to sense Terr's presence before the men did, as they were too intent on cornering their prey. Terr watched them for a moment, feeling that the scene was somewhat familiar. The men reminded him of Lenduar and himself, trapping and harming the helpless humans. He felt something well up within him for the girl, although the emotion was completely unfamiliar. He wished that one of the others was with him even though he knew that would be of no help. _

_ He had to rely on himself and his own instincts right now. He gave himself over to them, and felt an overwhelming desire to place himself between the girl and the men. He did so, and waited for the moment when the men would know he was there. A few seconds later, the one in the lead rubbed his arms and then his eyes. Terr knew he was reacting to the change in temperature as well as the sudden, crushing darkness. The raucous laughter changed to cries of panic and fear as the men began to bump into each other in an effort to get away. Terr moved in quickly, feeding off of their fear and earlier excitement. He knew that he was close to the moment that Lenduar would take their face in his clawed hands and end their existence, but Terr felt no need to do that. He backed up, and the men, free from the force that had held them captive, scattered and ran in the other direction. _

_ Terr turned to the girl, who was still staring, eyes wide in terror. He wanted to speak to her, but he had never attempted communication with a human. He had never witnessed any of the others try to talk with a human either. He did not know if she would understand him, or what he would say to her. He simply remained there, watching her for a few more minutes, until she started screaming. Terr moved to the far side of the alley, and wondered if she would be able to tell that he had moved out of her way. The girl edged away from him as quickly she could, hugging the wall and never taking her eyes off the place where he was. When she had moved past him, she let go of the wall and ran. Terr watched her until the natural darkness of the night swallowed her, and she was gone._

OoooOOoo

"Hermione, can you please come in here?" Harry called to her from his own office across the hall. She went in, tracing her fingers over the simple name plate on his door as she did so. _**Harry J. Potter, Head of Auror Department. **_Hermione smiled to herself, glad that Harry had been able to achieve his dream of becoming an auror, and had worked his way up to the Department Head. He was a fair boss, although Ron liked to say he had a tendency to give criminals the benefit of the doubt. Ron, as the Assistant to the Department Head, provided that much needed balance to Harry's optimism and general belief that people could be trusted. _Add me to the mix, and we all make a pretty good team_. Hermione thought. The only touchy spot in the Golden Trio's working relationship was the fact that Ron and Hermione had attempted to have a romantic relationship after the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione had at first thought of herself as the luckiest witch in the world, but those initial feelings of elation had faded quickly. Ron's disinterest in having an intelligent conversation began as twinges of annoyance, which strengthened until she couldn't brush them away anymore. They had parted amicably, but the fact that Hermione was the one who had suggested "taking a small break" couldn't be ignored. Eventually they had gone back to a strong friendship similar to the one they had experienced at Hogwarts, but an overlying tension was still there. At times, Hermione thought she could feel Ron's eyes watching her when he thought she wasn't looking and it made her feel confused and slightly guilty.

Harry gestured for Hermione to sit down in the chair closest to his desk. "Have you seen the papers yet?" He asked her, agitation evident in his voice.

"No, I haven't had a chance to look at the Prophet yet..." She started to answer, and Harry shook his head.

"No, no...not the Prophet...the Union Daily." The Union Daily was a Muggle paper, and Harry and Hermione were the only ones at the Ministry who read it every day.

"I skimmed through it, but nothing jumped out at me." Hermione said, shrugging. "Why? Did you find something?"

"I don't know...maybe...tell me what you think." Harry thrust the paper at her, and Hermione read the article he had circled in red. It was a small story, on the fourth page, advising citizens to be vigilant after a young woman reported being accosted by a group of men the following night.

"What does this have to do with us..." Hermione began to ask, but Harry just waved his hand at her to keep reading. The article went on to describe how the distressed young woman was being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome after reporting that the attackers were distracted by a "dark presence" that made the lights go out and the temperature turn frigid. The darkness had frozen her in place, and she had barely escaped with her life.

Hermione raised her eyes slowly to meet Harry's, her brown eyes now reflecting his panic. They studied each other for a long moment, and then breathed the dreaded word together.

_"Dementors."_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thank you to all who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! I hope you are enjoying it. Fun Facts: "Terr" is Albanian for "darkness." "Lenduar" means "hurt". **

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! Suggestions are also welcome :)**

**I don't own Harry Potter, the characters, or story lines.**

"But how can this be?" Hermione stared at Harry as she tried desperately to find a way to deny the existence of Harry's worst fear. "They were all destroyed after the Battle of Hogwarts!" Harry shook his head miserably.

"Not all. Hermione, this is heavily classified so it doesn't leave this room. A handful got away. We hunted them, of course, but no trace was ever found. His troubled gaze rested on the paper. "Until now..."

OoooOOoo

_Lenduar approached as Terr glided into the secluded cave. "You have been gone a long time, Terr. We were becoming cocccerned. Did it take you a long time to find a sssuitable human?" Terr shook his head, aware of the fact that Lenduar was eying him suspiciously. _

_ "No...the humans that I discovered were more than suitable." He described his experiences in the alley quickly. Another older one who had glided behind Lenduar shook his head in disgust. _

_ "It isss not up to you to sssort out the waysss of humansss! You ssshould have ended them all! And yet...I can sssense it on you...you did not!" Terr lowered his head in shame. He did not know how to explain why, vile as the human males had been, he had not been able to empty them, leave them as shells while he absorbed their very essence. The other older ones, previously disinterested, were now murmuring amongst themselves. Lenduar held up his clawed hands. _

_ "I am thisss young one'sss mentor...I take resssponsibility! We ssshall go hunting tomorrow evening together...I will make sssure that Terr is one of usss!" He swept away toward the interior of the cave, leaving Terr feeling even more confused, and slightly angry._

OoooOOoo

"So what's the plan, Harry?" Ron asked, tapping his wand nervously against his palm. Harry faced his coworkers and the Minister of Magic around the table in the conference room.

"The attacks are happening more frequently, always in Muggle areas. They don't seem to be concentrated in any one area, so I can't establish any kind of pattern."

"Except that they happen at night. And there are not usually survivors." Hermione chimed in. Everyone at the table shuddered as they took in her meaning.

"Obliterators have been working overtime, getting the victims to St. Mungos and modifying memories as needed." Harry continued. "The Aurors will be going out every night to various Muggle villages and cities. We will capture them. Until then, I don't want certain Aurors to track them alone." He looked right at Hermione, who blushed but faced Harry defiantly.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

He looked sorry, but his voice didn't waver as he answered. "Hermione, the Patronus Spell is the only one that gets rid of them...and the only one you have trouble with." She lowered her eyes angrily. "Many witches and wizards have trouble with that spell." Harry continued quickly. "You can successfully perform it when you're with a group, but I don't want you taking on any Dementors alone. Is that clear?" Hermione started to retort, but then changed her mind and nodded curtly. Harry watched her warily for a moment and then addressed the group. "In fact, if any of you are entertaining the thought of taking on Dementors alone, you will need to come and see me first. I'll need to see your Patronus to judge if it will be strong enough on its own, and how fast you can conjure one." He waved his wand, and a stack of papers flew through the door and landed on the table in front of him. "Here are your assignments for the next week, as well as your partners for those of you who have them." He hesitated for a moment, and then continued. "I've also included detailed descriptions of what Dementors can do to you..I strongly suggest that you read them and practice your Patronus spells." He turned his attention to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was sitting in silence at the head of the table. "That's all, Minister, unless there is something else you wanted to add?"

Kingsley got to his feet. "Thank you, Head Auror Potter. I must stress to you all the need for discretion right now. I do not want to cause a panic, which surely will be the result if it becomes widespread knowledge that the Dementors have returned." Hermione caught Ron's eye, and then nodded firmly in Kingsley's direction. Without looking at Harry, she left the room quickly, although she could feel his eyes on her.

Hermione successfully avoided Harry for the rest of the day. Her logical mind knew that Harry was right, and that he was just doing his job as head of his department, but she couldn't help feeling like a weak link in their team. She resolved to practice her Patronus with greater effort so that Harry would have full confidence in her abilities. She spent the remainder of the afternoon locked in her office, performing the difficult spell to the point of exhaustion. The sun was beginning to set in the enchanted window behind her when there came a knock at the door. Brushing her sweaty hair out of her face, she tucked her wand into her robes and opened the door. Ron smiled hopefully at her from the entrance way.

"I thought you might still be here. I was hoping you would want to grab a bite to eat with me? We can discuss our strategy...we're set to work together in a couple of days." He indicated the paper that he held in his hand. Hermione sighed.

"Thanks Ron, but not tonight. As you can see, I've been quite busy today, I really need to get home and take a shower."

"I can come by your place and pick you up later?" Ron asked persistently. Hermione felt a twinge of annoyance and tried to think of a way to get out of this without hurting his feelings.

"I'm really tired, maybe another night..." She put her hand on the door to indicate to Ron that the conversation was over. Instead of taking the hint, he put his hand over hers and leaned in closer.

"I'm not giving up on you, Hermione." He said in a low voice. "I'll see you in the morning, and we'll set a definite dinner date, okay?" He winked at her, grinned, and strode down the hall obviously pleased with himself. Hermione rolled her eyes, shook her head, and went back into her office to prepare to leave for the day.

The first thing she noticed as she stepped outside was that the air felt oppressive. She thought of casting a cooling charm around her, but decided against it. While not prohibited, performing magic in this predominately Muggle area was strongly discouraged save for emergency situations. She considered going back inside and Disapparting home tonight from the Atrium, but then decided against it. She had not realized how much she looked forward to her nightly walk home, it was rejuvenating in a way.

Hermione was almost halfway to her apartment when she heard the scream coming from behind a dark store. Gripping her wand tightly, she ran down the short alleyway and emerged behind the building. She felt her insides freeze, and remembered with horror the night that she and Harry had been attacked by Dementors in their third year. The feeling had been the same, right before she had passed out...

Forcing herself to focus, Hermione lit her wand and groped through the crushing darkness. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the sight she had been dreading. Two dementors had a couple of people cornered. Although she knew that the Muggles couldn't see the dementors, they could certainly feel their presence and it blocked their ability to escape. That could mean only one thing...these dementors were going to preparing to perform the Kiss. As she ran forward, she noticed that one of the dementors seemed to be hanging back, giving the appearance of uncertainty. The other, larger of the two creatures was already moving his hands toward the closest victim's face.

"Expecto Patronum!" Hermione shouted, aiming her wand toward the fiends as she hoped the spell she had been working on all day would be strong enough.

_ A woman appeared out of nowhere, uncharacteristically running toward them. She suddenly thrust her hand out in front of her and shouted words that Terr did not understand. A weak white light came from the direction of her hand, and Terr hissed as it hit him. Lenduar shrieked in anger, and turned his attention to the girl. She stumbled as Lenduar advanced on her, and shouted the words again. The light came again from the stick she held tightly, but Lenduar brushed it aside impatiently. He caught her wrist in his clawed hand and squeezed, making the girl cry in pain. She did not let go of the wooden stick, and shouted another set of words. This time a fiery red light came out of the stick. Before it could hit Lenduar, he twisted her wrist upward, and the blast caught the girl right in the face. She screamed, grabbing at her eyes with her free hand. Then she collapsed, and Lenduar scooped her up, none too gently. The stick that she had been holding fell to the ground with a clatter. _

_ "It ssseemsss we have dissscovered a witch. Come, Terr...we ssshall take her back to our lair and you can learn how to dissspose of thessse thingsss." Lenduar glided into the sky and flew in a northern direction. Terr started to follow, and then stopped to pick up the wooden stick the girl had dropped. He placed it in his robes and flew into the night after Lenduar. _

Hermione gradually felt her senses returning to her. She opened her eyes, but found that the darkness remained. She closed her eyes again and opened them rapidly, feeling the stirrings of panic begin to course through her. "I can't see!" She cried out, dimly aware of how shrill her voice sounded. There was no response. "Where am I?" She said, taking several deep gulps of air to try to calm her pounding heart. Again, there was no answer, but this time her ears picked up the distinct sounds of movement nearby. "Who's there? Identify yourself!" She tried to muster authority into her voice to bolster her courage.

"Asss you wisssh." A hissing, rattling voice whispered in her ear. Instantly, Hermione's mind was flooded with pain. She clutched her head with both hands and screamed in agony. "In a few momentsss, the witch will begin to sssee her worssst, mossst painful memoriesss and life experiencesss." The voice said again, chilling Hermione with its matter of factness. "That is our wonderful power over witchesss and wizardssss, and our weapon to defeat them."

"Mudblood!" A hauntingly familiar shriek sounded in Hermione's ears. Suddenly, she was on the floor of Malfoy Manor, being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by Bellatrix Lestrange. This time, there was no rescue, and the pain from the Unforgivable Curse went on and on. Then, just as suddenly, the curse was lifted. Before Hermione could catch her breath and cry in relief, she was standing on the lawn of Hogwarts, staring at Harry's dead body in Hagrid's arms during the Great Battle. Then she was watching Fred die...then she and Harry were surrounded by Dementors on the banks of the lake as they tried to save Sirius...Lupin and Tonks were laying dead in the Great Hall...Bellatrix was torturing her again...her own parents were staring at her with no recognition after she modified their memories...the Cruciatus Curse was upon her again...Hermione began to wish for death, anything to end the pain...


	5. Chapter 5

_ Terr watched the woman writhe on the floor, clutching her head and screaming. He could feel something welling up within him, similar to the emotion he had experienced in the alley but stronger. Without thinking about his actions, he suddenly leaped at Lenduar and pulled him away from the woman. The connection broken, the woman rolled away, still moaning, but also sobbing in what appeared to be relief. There was a hushed silence as Lenduar stared at Terr in disbelief, and then anger. _

_ "What are you doing?" Lenduar hissed furiously. _

_ "The young one wantsss the girl for himssself." Another dementor spoke up. Terr nodded, wanting them all to believe that. He was having trouble trying to separate the warring desires within him to feed from the woman and protect her. Lenduar surveyed Terr for a moment suspiciously, and then he stood aside._

_ "Then ssshe is yoursss, Terr. Finisssh her now." He reached out a clawed hand and pushed Terr forward. _

Hermione felt her sobs subsiding as she tried desperately to calm herself. She was dimly aware of some sort of struggle, and the dementors hissing voices above her. She wished for her wand, she did not see any way out of this situation without it. The blasting curse that she had cast in the alley had rebounded upon her when the dementor had wrenched her arm upward, and it had hit her in the eyes. The blackness that surrounded her was terrifying, although she wondered if it were better not to be able to see the dementors. She reached out blindly in front of her, and started to get to her feet.

_The young woman struggled, feeling in front of her with a vulnerability that doubled Terr's need to protect her. She got to her feet, and he moved in front of her, facing Lenduar and the others defiantly. _

_ "No." He spoke, feeling an unfamiliar fear course through him. "It's not right...I won't do it. We need to let her go." _

_ "Ssshe is a witch, Terr! One of the onesss resssponsssible for our downfall!" One of the older dementors spoke up in disbelief. Lenduar held up his hand to indicate silence. _

_ "Are you identifying with humansss now, Terr? Do you want to be one of them?" he sneered. _

_ Terr shook his head, confused. "I...I don't know. But I can't let you harm her." A coldness seemed to radiate off of Lenduar as his obvious rage heightened. _

_ "You have made your choiccce. Be one of them, then. But take heed, you will alwaysss be a dementor, and they will never accept you as one of them." He raised his hands and threw back his hood. He opened his mouth, and a transparent curtain of white light came out of the dark oriface. Terr tried to cover his head as the light came in his direction, but it soon surrounded him. He tried to cry out, but then the light was on him, inside of him, burning mercilessly as it conquered each part of him. His newly awakened emotions suddenly seemed to gain strength through the pain. The hood that covered his head blocked his vision, and he ripped it off. He caught sight of his hands, and saw that they had changed form. While not fully human, they had lost the clawed, scaly look of the dementors. He touched his face and felt a softness where there had previously been hard, reptilian flesh. _

_ "What have you done?" One of the older dementors asked Lenduar in a horrified whisper. _

_ "I have given Terr a portion of the sssouls I have taken. He is now of both worldsss, dementor and human. He is doomed to be an outcassst in each. That isss the punissshment for defiancce to our waysss." The older dementors murmured amongst themselves, but none of them dared to challenge Lenduar. "And now..." Lenduar continued, "Terr ssshall watch as I take what isss rightfully mine.." He glided forward toward the woman, hands outstretched in greedy need. _

_ "I said no!" Terr cried, leaping to his feet. He almost stumbled as he noticed that his limbs were heavier, less graceful. He felt something in his cloak as he moved, and reached in to pull it out. He realized that it was the thin stick of wood that he had taken from the captured witch, the one that she had made powerful light come from. He pointed it in Lendaur's direction and waited for something to happen. Nothing did, but the other dementors shrunk back, afraid of the stick. _

_ Lenduar had almost reached the woman...Terr had to act. He willed all of his emotions toward the stick in his outstretched hand, and felt something radiate down his arm. Without warning, a white light, brighter and stronger than any he had seen that night, burst from the stick and swirled around Lenduar. Terr covered his eyes in panic, but not before he saw the light come together and form a definite shape...he heard Lenduar scream in rage and pain, and he used this moment to spring forward. He pushed passed Lenduar and felt his hands close over the woman's body. He held her close, clutched the stick tightly, and used the same emotions he had called upon before to will them away from this place. Terr felt a strange pulling sensation somewhere around his middle, and he almost dropped the woman in panic. He wanted to claw at the uncomfortable feeling, but found that he was frozen. Frozen and moving at the same time. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that the pulling feeling was taking him, taking them, far away from the dementor's lair. _


	6. Chapter 6

The arguing grew louder, and then a human voice seemed to blend in with the hissing of the dementors. The next thing Hermione knew, strong hands were holding her and she felt the familiar pull of Apparition. They were leaving...she was safe...but who...she felt a slight chill come over her as the sensations of traveling fell away. They had arrived, but where? And what was the identity of her rescuer? She felt scared, not as terrified as she had been in the dementors' lair, but losing her wand and her sight had left her defenseless and vulnerable.

"Who's there?" she asked softly. There was no answer, although she detected a slight movement to her left. "Please...who's there?" she asked again, this time unable to keep a note of hysteria from creeping into her voice. She reached out in front of her, feeling only emptiness. Panicking, she began to slowly move forward, feeling around her on all sides. Nothing. Only blank, dark, emptiness.

_ The odd feeling gradually left him, and Terr found that he could move again. He looked at the stick of wood in his hand, and then at his surroundings. They were somewhat the same...yet different. He knew that somehow, they had left the lair. He knew that because he recognized this place. It was a cave, completely hidden yet close to civilization. He had found it once when he was younger, out exploring on his own. He marveled at the fact that they were here, in this particular place. All that he had been thinking back in the lair was that he needed a safe place, somewhere that Lendaur wouldn't find him...he put the stick of wood down quickly and continued to stare at it. All of this was connected to the innocent looking piece of wood, but he didn't know how. It made him nervous, yet he also felt an odd kinship with the stick. He didn't want to let it out of his sight. Gingerly, he picked it up as carefully as he could with his clumsy human hand and placed it back inside the cloak. That was when he heard the woman speaking and moving around, fear evident in her voice. She was moving further into the cave, and Terr studied her curiously. Should he try to speak to her? Would she be afraid of him? Lendaur had said that he would "be of both worlds, an outcast in both." The woman was feeling in front of her, groping blindly in various directions as she sought to acclimate herself. Terr crept closer to her, noting that with the exception of the slight rustling of his cloak, he still had the ability to move silently. She seemed to sense his presence, however, and whipped her head around, throwing her arms up to protect herself. He noticed with a start that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. Terr quickly put a hand on her arm, and was surprised when she pulled away violently._

_ "Who are you? What do you want? Identify yourself!" She cried out, and he could hear the panic in her words. Terr closed the gap between them, and took both of her wrists firmly in his hands. _

_ "I am Terr." He said quietly, grateful that his voice sounded more or less human. She began struggling against his hold, but Terr noticed that he was considerably stronger than her. _

_ "Please...let go of me..." She murmured, the tears streaking down her cheeks. _

_ "I do not want you to harm yourself." Terr answered. "You cannot see, can you?" _

_ "I...please...just let go of me, I'll sit down right here...you need to tell me where we are, who you are..." Her breath was coming out in small gasps and he knew that she was trying very hard to control her rising terror. _

_ "I will agree." Terr said, loosening his grip but not letting her go until she was sitting safely on the floor of the cave. Immediately the woman pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. He sat down next to her, close enough so that she could feel him but not exactly touching her. "To answer your questions, we are in a cave. We are safe here, the Dementors will not find us. I have already told you my name, it is Terr." The woman nodded, and took a deep breath. _

_ "I owe you my life. Thank you for saving me from them."_

_ "You're welcome." Terr responded softly. "I couldn't let them harm you." She lifted her head up, her sightless eyes searching. _

_ "Weren't you their prisoner as well? How did you get away? You must have a wand...I need to go home..." _

_ Terr sighed. "What is your name?" He asked. She hesitated for a moment, apparently deciding whether to answer his question or demand the answers to her own._

_ "Hermione." She finally said. _

_ "Hermione." He tried it out, and liked the way it sounded. "I like saying your name." _

_ "Thank you." She said warily. "Now...I need your wand...there is a spell that will restore my sight..." Terr felt for the wand in his cloak. He did not want to let her have it for a couple of reasons. One, there was the very good chance that she would recognize it as her own. Two, if she could see again, what would he look like to her? Would she harm him? _

_ "It must have been lost when we escaped." Terr said smoothly. "One of them tried to attack me right before we...disappeared." _

_ "Are you sure?" Hermione asked suspiciously. "Did you look around the spot we appeared?" _

_ "Of course I did!" Terr answered defensively. "You are welcome to try, but it is not here." Hermione cocked her head to one side. "Why are you talking like that?" She asked. "I can't place your accent, where are you from?" Terr swallowed. He would have to think of something, and quickly. _

_ "I was not aware that my words are out of the ordinary." He attempted to put a teasing lilt into his voice, and saw Hermione relax slightly. _

_ "Well...I don't know. In any event, we need to find a way out of here...you said we're in a cave?" _

_ "We are safe here." Terr said firmly. "We can't leave yet." He saw a flash of fear cross Hermione's face, and knew that she finally realized the gravity of her predicament...she was a prisoner in the cave. _


End file.
